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On 1 March 2019

Top IoT Trends and Predictions That Will Drive Innovation in 2019

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Internet of Things has grown to shape both technology and business, showing remarkable growth over the past years. Gartner Research predicts the number of connected devices to increase worldwide, reaching 14,2 billion in 2019 and 25 billion by 2021. Statista suggests even bigger numbers and forecasts 35,8 billion connected devices by 2021 and 75,4 billion by 2025. Skelia is a big fan IoT and the benefits they bring companies as well as individuals. That’s why we’ve collected the hottest IoT trends business leaders should look out for in 2019.

The Progression of Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT)

With the start of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, we’ve been hearing the term IIoT more often. And for a reason. While traditional IoT mostly targets consumer devices, industrial IoT connects the equipment of industrial enterprises. IIoT applications allow monitoring operations remotely and creating unique data-sharing ecosystems. And since all the industrial assets, supply chains and devices are connected within one network, businesses get more opportunities for growth and new revenue models.

The technology enhances logistics, transportation, agriculture, aviation, defense and healthcare. Speaking of healthcare, the adoption of IIoT helped the industry generate around $731 million in 2018. Statista also predicts that sectors like manufacturing, transportation and logistics will spend around $40 billion each on IoT solutions, platforms or services by 2020.

In 2019, Industrial Internet of Things will keep helping organizations shift their business models towards digital transformation. It will optimize and automate processes, advance the production potential, increase efficiency and improve facility management. As a result, manufacturing becomes less risky and more profitable.

What About Process Automation with Robotics?

As organizations are seeking new, tech-based methods to improve the way their products are manufactured and then delivered, robotics becomes an attractive field for investment. Gartner forecasts that global spending on the robotic process automation (RPA) software will reach around $2,4 billion in 2022.

The year 2019 will mark the evolution of intelligent automation. The ability to handle and automate time-consuming, tedious tasks is a huge benefit for businesses. With RPA, operations will become faster, smarter and more affordable. First, companies will save valuable resources and reduce labor costs since employees will spend less time doing routine tasks. Secondly, enterprises will track the status of all processes and tune what’s necessary.

Today, enterprise-sized companies are the key adopters of RPA solutions. But in 2019, smaller firms that want to benefit from the robotic workforce will comprise at least 30% of the entire RPA market.

Social and Ethical IoT

As IoT matures, social, legal and even ethical issues come to the fore. With the emergence of standards on data protection like General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the burden of getting fully compliant to strict rules falls on organizations. Now, IoT solutions not only have to be effective, but they should also be socially responsible.

Companies offering or using IoT products and services will have to revise their corporate strategies to control their devices and the information they generate. Governments and regulatory agencies will establish rules on data creation, collection, storage and transfer through connected networks. And since consumer privacy is so important, organizations will have to eliminate any vulnerabilities that may lead to data leakage.

From Cloud to Edge Computing

Computing will continue to move to the edge in 2019. Вoes that mean that cloud isn’t an option anymore?

The always connected and extremely mobile IoT devices require new, efficient solutions for data analysis and execution. At the same time, advanced data-driven networks require a new computing infrastructure, developing which would be unreasonably expensive if done on external servers. Maybe, edge computing will step in?

Edge computing will address IoT challenges, eliminating the need for central data nodes. By taking over data processing, the technology will optimize business applications and cloud-based systems. Edge devices will be able to process data locally, reducing the volumes of information shared. This way, industries that have to analyze complex data chunks in real time (manufacturing, public security, transportation, logistics) will win.

From Smart Homes to Smart Enterprises

We see the market growth of voice-enabled assistants because they are easily installed on smartphones or wearables. But from now on, IoT will have even greater potential for their further expansion.

Integrated into the industrial sector, IoT-powered voice assistants will help organizations track processes remotely and enable seamless communication for both teams and physical assets. In the long run, it will pay off in the form of lower costs on asset maintenance and management.

Introducing 5G

5G was overhyped in 2018, and now it’s impacting 2019 as well. We expect unbelievable network speed and bandwidth, which will certainly affect IoT applications.

Being the next wireless mobile technology standard, 5G offers the next level of services, heavily exceeding the capabilities of 4G. When launched, it will increase network capacity and trigger new business opportunities connected with that. 5G will be extremely valuable for cloud and cognitive computing, powering autonomous cars, connected homes, logistics, public emergency, smart manufacturing and smart cities. The technology will allow to collect and share data in a fraction of a second, which is critical for the hyper-connected future.

What to Expect Next?

Overall, 2019 will be a fruitful year for companies that already leverage IoT solutions as well as those who are only willing to do it. Here are the 2019 advancements of this technology in a nutshell:

From the increase in IIoT applications to robotic process automation, organizations will optimize time- and money-consuming tasks with digital workforce instead of human resources.

Security and privacy will lead to social and ethical IoT.

Edge computing will optimize IoT applications and create even more opportunities for industries that have to analyze massive loads of complex data in real time.

5G will finally step in to offer the next level of services, powering self-driving vehicles, smart homes and logistics.

These trends are predicted to shape the future of IoT and transform both home and industrial applications. Stay tuned to get informed on the fresh industry insights from Skelia!